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This photographer creates artistic landscapes using only surveillance cameras

We’ve all seen all kinds of cameras and different ways of creating very artistic photos. But I have recently discovered one of the most interesting landscape series so far. Surveillance Landscapes is a series of photos by fine art photographer Marcus DeSieno. Landscapes taken by something that’s not really used for art – surveillance cameras.

His work brings the mood and spirit of Ansel Adams’ black and white landscapes, and it’s a series of masterfully done photos. But he takes these moody, monochrome images without leaving his desk or picking up his camera. Instead, he hacks into surveillance cameras, public webcams and CCTV feeds all over the world.

Marcus was kind enough to share some details about his project with DIYP. And the idea and message of the series are as powerful as the photos themselves.

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A young Russian changes the world’s view on his homeland using his best “weapon” – photography

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When a country or region is associated with war and conflicts, it’s difficult to change the public opinion. But a young photographer Magomed Shapiev is fighting a different battle from those fought in his homeland. he comes from the Dagestan region in Russia. This part of the country has been a scene of outbreaks and conflicts since the 1990s. But thanks to Magomed’s amazing photos, he is emphasizing the stunning beauty of this region rather than its political situation.

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This video shows what the ugly side of landscape photography looks like

 

Everyone has those days when it would be better if they just stayed in bed. Photographers also have them, and often things simply don’t go as you’ve planned. Thomas Heaton shows what it looks like when a landscape photographer has a bad day. And no matter what kind of photography you do, you’ve probably had a day like this, too.

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I Walked on Frozen Baikal, The Deepest and Oldest Lake on Earth, to Capture Its Otherworldly Beauty

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Baikal is impressive. It’s the deepest and the cleanest lake on Earth. When we were planning a trip, we didn’t even suspect it is so wonderful, majestic and fairy. We were raptured over its beauty so much, that we almost didn’t sleep all 3 days we were here.

Lake Baikal is about 600km in length. The thickness of it reaches 1,5-2 meters. This ice can tolerate the vehicle of about 15 tonnes, but sometimes we saw cars that had been fallen down. Ice has different patterns in different parts of the lake. It happens because water is freezing layer by layer. Especially it is very interesting to find a fish or a branch in the ice. The ice in Baikal is the most transparent in the world! And this is true. You can see everything till the bottom: fish, green stones, plants and bluish gulf. The water in the lake is so clear, that you can see various objects on the depth of 40 meters.

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Look at the world through the eyes of photographers with no permanent home

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Do you like traveling and taking travel photos? I know I do. But Elia and Naomi Locardi bring travel photography to a new level. They are travelers, artists and photographers who chose an interesting path. They are not just travelers, they are nomads, and they call themselves location-independent. In other words, they don’t have a single location they call home. Home is everywhere.

This is a story about their decisions and its beauties and challenges. It’s certainly an unusual lifestyle that takes a lot of bravery. In this nine-minute video, you’ll hear their story and see some of their great photos – and minutes will feel like seconds.

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This is how I meter and expose landscapes for color film

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Looking back through my archives, I realized that I’ve covered topics like film selections and scanning film but to date I’ve skipped one really important part: metering and exposing color film.  This is something I get quite a few questions about so bear with me while I try to be very thorough and cover topics from different lighting conditions and how I would meter with the various film types, both color negatives and slides.  While graduated neutral density (GND) filters deserve an entire post for themselves, I’m going to have to touch on that topic as well since they are a critical part of my film exposures.

As a disclaimer, I’m going to be covering my methods for metering.  These may not be the methods you’ll read about in most books but I’ve found them to be both effective and extremely quick which is crucial when the light is changing dramatically.  It’s come to a point where metering is mostly second-nature to me and takes up a very small portion of my workflow.

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This amazing storm timelapse makes rainclouds look like floating waterfalls

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When I’m heading out location scouting or to do a shoot, we often drive through rain 3 or 4 times before we get there. The weather around here is full of all sorts of different microclimates, some small, some large. So it’s not uncommon to see columns of rain coming down in the distance.

Rarely, though, are they as dramatically beautiful as they are in this video from photographer and filmmaker Mike Olbinski. This timelapse film took over 85,000 frames and 36 days of shooting to complete.  It’s stunning work, I’m sure you’ll agree.

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Are filters even necessary for landscape photography anymore?

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This is a topic that seems to come up every few years. As sensors increase in dynamic range, ND grads sometimes aren’t so essential. Raw processing software becomes more capable with each new release. Even filters that cut through haze aren’t always needed. But what about things like circular polarisers and big ND filters for super long exposures?

In this video, landscape photographer Thomas Heaton offers his insight and thoughts on the question. When it comes to polarisers, Thomas is of the opinion that they absolutely are necessary. It’s an opinion I share. The function that they serve just cannot be reproduced in post. But what about the rest? Watch the video to find out.

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